ASPR Supports Grade-Level Reading
The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) announced the communities that are Pacesetters for their work during 2019 to support early school success. A collaborative effort by funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities to ensure that more children in low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship, CGLR focuses on promoting early school success as an important building block of more hopeful futures for children in economically challenged families and communities.
“We applaud the civic leaders and local funders whose time, talent, energy and imagination have fueled progress in these Pacesetter Communities,” says Ralph Smith, managing director of CGLR. “Mobilized communities — like these Pacesetters — support our big bet on the problem-solving potential of proximity.”
Pacesetters’ Journey
The process began in January when CGLR invited communities to file stories on its Community Learning for Impact & Improvement Platform (CLIP), using 16 categories that served as “tags” for each story when it was published on CLIP.
CGLR then asked the 112 communities that responded to self-nominate for Pacesetter Honors for one or more of their stories submitted for the What’s Working Community Challenge.
CGLR received self-nominations of 214 stories from 50 communities representing 23 states and one Canadian province. The nominated stories were considered, sorted and ranked by panels of community-based peer reviewers. By the end of the process, there were 2,000 story reviews filed by close to 400 peer reviewers.
“The commitment to peer review is a unique and important aspect of the Pacesetter Recognition process,” says Smith. “They bring a combination of local knowledge and real-world experience that adds heft and credibility to the Pacesetter Recognition process.”
Pacesetter Communities
CGLR recognizes the following 21 communities as recipients of 2019 Pacesetter Honors for “Mobilizing for Success” and “Deploying Innovative Strategies and Tools.” Click on the name of the community to be taken to that community’s profile page on CLIP, where its stories are available in the “Community Stories” section.
Nash and Edgecombe Counties, NC
CGLR recognizes the following 29 communities as Pacesetter Finalists for “Moving the Needle in Impact Areas.” After a second round of reviews later this summer, the Campaign will announce Pacesetter Honors in these categories in September.
Stockton-San Joaquin County, CA
Nash and Edgecombe Counties, NC
Salt Lake (Clearfield, Kearns, Park City and South Salt Lake), UT
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About the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Launched in 2010, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a collaborative effort of funders, nonprofit partners, business leaders, government agencies, states and communities across the nation to ensure that many more children from low-income families succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. Since its launch, CGLR has grown to include more than 300 communities, representing 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and two provinces in Canada — with 5,000+ local organizations and 510 state and local funders (including 200+ United Ways). To learn more, visit gradelevelreading.net and follow the movement on Twitter @readingby3rd.